Land types of Queensland definitions
Annual
A plant that normally completes its life cycle within one year or season.
Common forbs
Annual or perennial broad-leaved herbaceous (non-woody) flowering plants, that are not grasses, and that commonly occur in pastures. Common forbs category includes non-grass perennial monocots such as sedges and rushes.
Intermediate
Native and naturalised exotic grasses that are generally less palatable than preferred species, yet are considered to provide better yield and are more desirable than species listed as non-preferred. Intermediate species are generally not as affected by heavy and prolonged grazing, with the proportion of these species changing little, or increasing, under heavy grazing.
Introduced weeds
Exotic or non-native plants that grow out of place or where they are not wanted are considered introduced weeds. Introduced weeds may alter natural habitats, cause gross structural and floristic changes in vegetation communities, alter landscape processes, and cause loss of ecological and economic productivity. A number of recognised lists of weeds of national interest and state and territory noxious weeds can be found at the Weeds in Australia website.
Non-preferred
Native and naturalised exotic grasses that are perennial but are the least palatable and/or low yielding pasture species. The proportion of non-preferred species usually increases under heavy persistent heavy grazing.
Perennial
A plant that normally lives for more than two years or growing seasons, fruiting more than once during its life.
Preferred
Native and naturalised exotic grass species that are perennial, palatable, and productive plants (3Ps). Preferred species usually decline under persistent heavy grazing.
Regional ecosystems
A regional ecosystem is a vegetation community in a bioregion that is consistently associated with a particular combination of geology, landform and soil. Updated regional ecosystem descriptions are maintained in the Regional Ecosystem Description Database.
Suitable sown pastures
Pasture species (grasses and/or legumes) that are recommended to be sown on developed pastures replacing vegetation and/or native grasses. Low input oversowing of native grasses with adapted legumes may be recommended on some land types that are not suitable for pasture development.
Long-term carrying capacity
The estimated “number of livestock that an area of land can carry over a long period, through good and poor seasons, including extended periods of dry conditions and drought, with no decline in land condition” is referred to as the long-term carrying capacity.
Long-term carrying capacity is shown as the fully-watered hectares required per Adult Equivalent (AE: 450kg cattle consuming 8 kg DM/day) for land in “A” condition. Calculation of the long-term carrying capacity is based on a number of factors including:
- the long-term median annual native pasture growth,
- the ‘safe’ utilisation of pasture growth by livestock that is not likely to cause long-term degradation and to allow recovery after drought,
- topography and tree density